Entering into the crazy world of dog mushing!

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Finding balance. We hear adults say it all the time; but what about children? How do kids find their equilibrium in this e-world? Electronics, as positive as they can be, can also be destructive to developing minds. We all know this. Children have an innate urge to experience the abundance of life. To run, climb, swim, smell, catch; experience. But the pull of technology can cause a synapsis firing in the brain that tricks them into thinking they’re satisfied by media. Do I have proof of this? Yes, I’m a parent. When my kids are outdoors (or practicing gymnastics on top of dog houses), they’re more content, peaceful, and do better with their studies. And perhaps because I’m still somewhat of a child at heart – continuing to love the experience of life, it’s important for me to see my children live and love life. And guess what – it’s not hard to do! The inquisitive wiring is already there! Sometimes it just needs a little sparking. Spending some active time in nature, observing creation, breathing in fresh air… floods the soul with nutrients to be craved. And more than that; releases the tractor beam of those electronic toxins!

Our female that we bred with the esteemed “Asland” from 10 Squared Racing had her prenatal appointment today. We were very excited when the vet felt baby bumps during the initial examination! But our joy was quickly exterminated when the scan revealed no pregnancy. The bumps? – nothing but poo. Nice. The vet asked if we had another female to breed but I explained to her that although we love our other female (DJ) – she’s the kind of dog that should not reproduce. The musher that we bought her from actually told us that if she were a child, she’d be on ritalin. We actually keep crazy DJ in a kennel with old blue-eyed Jackson – a fixed male with his own set of issues, such as excessive feces eating. Needless to say, I got some info on spaying and we were on our way. When we arrived back to the dog yard, we were surprised to hear high-pitched howling. To our horror, DJ and Jackson were “stuck” together – end to end, which I’d never seen before! And of course, I had my daughters with me – biology 101! We waited until they were “done” and then separated them into different kennels. The vet told me that dogs usually can’t tie together if the male is fixed but the musher we bought him from assured me that he was. I guess we have to examine him to see if his parts are all there. Yay. When we finally got home, one of my daughters said, “well, that’s something I never wanna see again.” Yep, pretty sure they’re never having kids now!
SIDE NOTE: If crazy DJ happens to be pregnant, we’ll be offering “crazy” deals on pups! 😉

We’ve spent the few dry days of spring clearing the dreaded buckthorn from the trails – already getting a couple of wood ticks along the way! When we cleared a small loop, we got the four wheeler ready and as we harnessed a team of three for the first run, we noticed our first obstacle; fat dogs! The harness of our lead dog “Fast Eddie” was a little snug – resulting in Eddie not being so fast. The team did a good job though, pulling the four wheeler without any problems and knowing their commands. And although the loop was a fun run, we may need to find a nice long straightaway to let the dogs run full out from time to time. Maybe a country road nearby. We’ll also be rationing food a bit and we are in the process of preparing the dog yard – stay tuned!

When our twins were in first grade, I stopped by their elementary school for lunch and recess. While we were out on the playground, the recess monitor marched over and asked me if I would ask the girls to stop making all of the other kids pretend to be their sled-dogs. Apparently, my girls were “mushing” the other children – making them run on their hands and parents were complaining about mittens being worn out! We had no idea! Fast forward two years. At ten years old, the playground mushing had stopped, but the dogsledding intrigue hadn’t – and their third grade teacher took notice. If a child is lucky enough, they will come across a special teacher with an insight into their soul; this teacher was that visionary for my girls. She encouraged the uniqueness of their characters and one day, surprised my girls with a book called “Born to Pull.” Today, three years later, I pulled the book out and as we read through it again, we found her hand written note inside the pages. What a treasure. A reminder to not only follow your own dreams, but encourage others to follow theirs as well! Thank you Mrs. Laubach!